Gear reviews you can trust ?

darcym

I fully understand that if you give a negative review of a product it can impact your revenue stream, but what honest review service is there ?

guitarist magazine when did anything get under a 7 ?
youtube reviewers like Pete Thorn (sorry Pete, just a strong example of a respected youtube reviewer) - when was the last time there was even the slightest critique of any of the products, let alone a negative review.

Where can you actually get constructive, honest reviews of gear in 2017 

Legionreturns

This guy... 



Rips the shit out of anything he thinks is crap and gently tells it like it is. 

guitarfishbay

Web forums where you know the posting history and taste of the person reviewing.

Roland

That's why the Reviews section was created.

richardhomer

I think part of the issue with reviews is that guitar making - at all price points - is better than its ever been - so the chances of finding a truly poor instrument is very low. 

I generally don't read reviews these days - I think you get better information from people on forums. As much as anything, someone who’s actually lived with an instrument has had time to properly evaluate it.

Telejester

Don't trust a Tom Quayle review, monster player but absolutely loves everything he demos, not a critical word to be heard.

TTony

Roland said:

That's why the Reviews section was created.

Exactly this.

@Roland
Perhaps we could breathe a bit of life into the reviews section with a "Reviews Wanted" sub-section?  Given the amount of gear that people here buy, use (sometimes briefly) and sell, I'd guess that we'd cover a lot of the needs.

Might not have the polish and shine of the YouTubers, but then you're more likely to get an honest review, or understand the motivations of the reviewer, here.

Telejester

https://youtu.be/BcyMxP0chfU

As honest as they come, watch this.

darcym

TTony said:

Roland said:

That's why the Reviews section was created.

Exactly this.

@Roland
Perhaps we could breathe a bit of life into the reviews section with a "Reviews Wanted" sub-section?  Given the amount of gear that people here buy, use (sometimes briefly) and sell, I'd guess that we'd cover a lot of the needs.

Might not have the polish and shine of the YouTubers, but then you're more likely to get an honest review, or understand the motivations of the reviewer, here.

doesn't have to be an oscar winning thing, just solid info, with context and balance.

I'd like to see the reviews section get a kick of life.

Roland

TTony said:

Perhaps we could breathe a bit of life into the reviews section with a "Reviews Wanted" sub-section?  

Good idea. We've had one or two requests in the past.

There are also threads such as the debate over "NYXL strings" which ought to be moved to Reviews.

notanon

When looking for reviews on any product I prefix the search terms with forum. That almost eliminates the commercial links being retrieved by Google.

Kalimna

Whilst I do  like reading reviews, and look at the score, I always try and read between the lines and see what the review is saying.

In fact, it wouldn't be a bad thing if magazine reviews did away with the scores completely.

Adam

bingefeller

The trouble with Pete Thorn's reviews is that they are too professional and slick and don't really represent the sound of the majority of players out there IMO.  

When buying a pedal I usually listen to soundclips to see if I like the sound and, if I do, then I will buy it.  I tend not to read reviews.  

guitarfishbay

bingefeller said:

The trouble with Pete Thorn's reviews is that they are too professional and slick and don't really represent the sound of the majority of players out there IMO.  

When buying a pedal I usually listen to soundclips to see if I like the sound and, if I do, then I will buy it.  I tend not to read reviews.  

Have you ever tried to watch independent bass gear reviews.

They follow this format -

Camera begins at 90 degrees with handling noise, as being put into position as record it pressed.

Takes breath

Slap bass open string, clip sound input, repeat a few times then slap fret 5 next string and hammer on to 7 for the octave...

If there's more than one pickup they do the same riff on the next pickup...

57Deluxe

 I tend to cross ref reviews and see if any common + or negs and draw  a conclusion from there...

Roland

I'm thinking that Reviews on the forum would be different from YouTube reviews. If you want to hear how something sounds, or see what it looks like, then there are plenty of videos already. What they all miss out is the reality of working with the product. @Clarky's thread on Helix vs Axe FX is much more valuable. Then there's the thread on NYXL strings which shows how they work for some people, and why they don't work for others.

Clarky

Roland said:

I'm thinking that Reviews on the forum would be different from YouTube reviews. If you want to hear how something sounds, or see what it looks like, then there are plenty of videos already. What they all miss out is the reality of working with the product. @Clarky's thread on Helix vs Axe FX is much more valuable. Then there's the thread on NYXL strings which shows how they work for some people, and why they don't work for others.

I think the difference is that my little Helix journey / blog had context rather than being a review..
I was looking to solve very specific problems and trying as best I could to squeeze every ounce of functionality out of the unit to do so..
I tend not to look at reviews cos they're often either:
- a platform for the reviewer to display to the world how good a player they are
- a platform for the reviewer to display to the world how clever they are
- a straight head to head where the fanboy kit always wins
- pretty dull and lack any real context

btw: I slung a set of NYXL's on my Strat and they are absolutely amazing..
absolutely adored them.. they're still on it today..
so I went and got another set and slung them on one of my V's and they just didn't work at all well
no real spank to them.. tension felt all wrong..
I was really surprised and so disappointed..

strtdv

I try before I buy when I can or else make a best guess and take a punt, knowing something maybe end up not being for me.

Online reviews are largely useless. Amateur players describing things tend to descend into cliche and wildly overestimate their playing ability and their ears, pros have access to high end recording gear and post-processing, so it's hard to tell how something sounds in the room.
Also, people aren't always 100% up front about when they're being paid for a review.

So yeah, I either try before I buy or take a semi-educated guess and hope for the best.

GoldenEraGuitars

I think reading a review about what noise something makes is like listening to the radio to describe a painting. 

You want to hear the actual sound something makes in the room you need the guy who doesn't work for a magazine, publication, shop or company to record a quick 4-5 min video from his/her bedroom. Regardless of playing style you'll get a better idea of how the item really sounds.

I see Pete Thorn referenced, good example of an amazing player, nice guy and well produced videos. Problem is, how many average joes have access to Suhr guitars and amps and the plethora of software and recording equipment he has? Exactly. 

hywelg

One thing I've learned is you cannot trust anyone else's ears. @ICBM has my utmost respect for his amp knowledge but I wouldn't trust his ears as far as I could chuck 'em. DrZ produce some of the best sounding amps on the planet. Sorry chap, had to be said....

mudslide73

Cliché Alert: Some people sound great no matter what they're playing through. 

I love a long term review. A long time ago I Pm'd Digital Scream about Jet City amps and got a proper rundown based on many gigs worth of experience. He addressed my specific questions about how we differ in styles. You can't get that from a magazine or even a YT clip.